Pharmaceuticals in China

Summary

This comprehensive study examines China's pharmaceutical market.Products covered consist of Western ethical and over-the-counter (OTC) drugs and traditional Chinese medicines. Growth prospects for pharmaceuticals are analyzed by therapeutic group (anti-infective, gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, hormones and related, biologicals and vaccines, nutritional, central nervous system, respiratory, and other, consisting of dermatological, genito-urinary and various unclassified therapies) and market segment (hospital, consumer, physicians, and clinic and other). Also examined are trends in drug regulation, production and distribution, including the impact of recently adopted reforms in drug classification systems, good manufacturing practices, intellectual propertyrights and import requirements.

Unless otherwise indicated, all statistics and forecasts representpharmaceutical demand or shipments valued in current yuan. The term "demand" is equivalent to "value of consumption" or "manufacturers' sales" and is definedas the value of domestic production plus imports minus exports. The term "shipments" is equal to the value of nationally produced products distributed in both domestic and international markets. Historical data (1995, 2000, 2005) and forecasts to 2010 and 2015 are provided for pharmaceuticals by type (Western ethical and OTC drugs and traditional Chinese medicines), herapeutic class and market. The value of counterfeit drugs distributed throughout China is not included in the historical demand statistics presented for pharmaceuticals. In 2005, these illegal medicines were estimated to generate sales of between 75 and 80 billion. Forecasts for pharmaceutical demand assume that drug counterfeiting activity will decrease gradually due to increased government enforcement actions. These actions, in turn, will impact favorably on the market for legitimate medicines.

Corporate information and data appearing in Section VII, "Industry Structure," are based on estimates derived from published company reports and personal interviews with competitors, industry experts and sources within the companies themselves. Macroeconomic indicators were taken from The Freedonia Group Incorporated World Consensus Forecasts dated January 2006. The sum of individual components appearing in the study tables may not always add to the apparent total due to independent rounding. All ratios were calculated on the basis of unrounded numbers.

Information and data on China' pharmaceutical market were obtained from a variety of primary and secondary sources, including government agencies, trade associations, industry participants, online databases and other Freedonia studies. Primary information was gathered through consultations with officers and marketing/technical personnel of participating companies and other industry specialists. Secondary and background information were obtained from several international pharmaceutical publications, including Biopharm International, China Chemical Reporter, Chinese Pharmaceutical Journal, Chinese Pharmacological Bulletin, Manufacturing Chemist, MMR, Nutraceuticals World, Pharmaceutical Technology and R&D Directions. Corporate annual reports, SEC Form 10-K filings, product catalogs and other company information were also used extensively in framing the industry environment and as input for market size assessments. Related Freedonia publications consulted during the preparation of this study included #1996 World Pharmaceutical Packaging (11/05) and #1818

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